L-G approves water ATMs in 10 city colonies

Former US ambassador Nancy Powell with a group of Indian students. (Renuka Puri)

Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung has cleared a proposal to set up “pay-and-use” water ATMs in water- starved slums and resettlement colonies of Delhi.

Water ATMs operate as cashless vending machines for water. A customer uses a smart card, which can be recharged, to draw water from the kiosk.

A customer can draw up to 20 litres of water at once or less, depending on his need. Money is automatically deducted from the smart card, depending on the volume of water drawn from the ATM. One litre of water purchased from the kiosk will cost 30 paise.

The proposal in this regard was first made by Sarvajal, a social enterprise established by the Ajay G Piramal Foundation, which enjoys the support of the social innovation department of Audi.

Based on several presentations to the Delhi government, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), in collaboration with the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), launched a pilot project earlier this year at Savda Ghevra, a resettlement colony in Southwest Delhi.

“Buoyed by the success of the pilot project, the DJB decided to install the water ATMs in 10 other colonies, of which seven will be resettlement colonies around Savda Ghevra in Southwest Delhi and three others in South Delhi,” a senior DJB official said.

A slum resettlement colony established in 2005, Savda Ghevra is currently under the jurisdiction of the DUSIB and home to at least 8,500 families. Here, the DJB, in collaboration with private operator Piramal Water Pvt Ltd, has set up a decentralised drinking water plant along with solar-powered water ATMs at 14 different locations.

Each ATM operates as a stand-alone water kiosk with a capacity of 500 litres. It is filled up to 300-400 litres in order to “ensure complete use of water and to prevent the water from getting stale”.

“In Savda Ghevra, we have issued 8,000 cards and roughly 8,500 families are benefitting from the system. Each litre drawn gets debited from the smart card, which carries a 12-digit code,” the official said.How it works
* A customer uses a smart card, which can be recharged, to draw water from ATM
* A customer can draw up to
20 litres at once or less
* Money is automatically deducted from smart card. In Delhi, one litre of water will cost 30 paise

Pilot project

Under a pilot project, water ATMs are already functioning in Savda Ghevra, a resettlement colony in Southwest Delhi
Solar-powered water ATMs have been set up at 14 locations
8,000 cards have been issued Nearly 8,500 families are benefitting from system